Inside the Sketchbook of Camille Rose Garcia

For our Inside the Sketchbook Series we take a close look at artist Camille Rose Garcia’s inspirations in her personal sketchbook. Garcia was featured on the cover of Hi-Fructose Volume 8. Her paintings are an allusion to wasteland fairytales that contain evocative symbols of pop culture while at the same time keep a critical tone trained on our contemporary consumer society. Her early influences were vintage Disney and Fleischer cartoons. Garcia has an amazing ability to create new interpretations of epic tales concerning the ever-present human condition. The characters in her work are often depicted wielding various coping mechanisms such as drinking poison, self medicating with pharmaceuticals, or avoiding arising conflicts in oil saturated environments. Her bold color palette is intoxicating and somehow after viewing her work the plight of humankind seems a bit less sinister. Read the full interview below!

For more peeks into Camille Rose Garcia’s Studio, check out her blog here.

“Inspiration comes from everywhere, but it usually starts with things I have read, things I have seen, music that I listen to, and dreams. Those go into the brain filter and come out the other side in the form of sketches, little writings, and finally a painting or drawing.” – Camille Rose Garcia

Have you always kept a sketchbook?

I have always kept a sketchbook, but I am often jotting down things on little pieces of paper. I don’t really carry around a big sketchbook, so if I have a great idea I write it on whatever and paste it into my fancy sketchbook at home.

Why is it important for you to keep a sketchbook?

For me it’s a way of being more casual and less precious about drawing in general, and all my painting ideas start first with just a little scribble and a few words. Also, sometimes the great ideas flow, and other times I am less creative so If I have all of my ideas jotted down I always have plenty to work with.

Do you often sketch out ideas before working them into finished pieces?

Always! But again, sometimes the sketches are very rough. I work out the color relationships directly on the painting.

What brand of sketchbook do you use?

I like any paper that is off white, so the Moleskines are great for me and come in so many different sizes. I also use Holbein “Multi-drawing book/5f” for watercolor and multimedia. I sketch in pencil, pen, and watercolor so I like a more durable surface. Also these ones have cute little ties and come in weird colors.

What are some good sketchbook tips and habits that you can share with our readers?

I get my best ideas in the weirdest places, so I have a smallish moleskine I keep in my bag, and a bigger one at home that I don’t carry around. I prefer to draw in that one because it is bigger. And I like to decorate the covers too, it makes them more exciting to fill up. I also date them when I start and finish for archival purposes.